Torpedo exploding mechanism



Jan.- 17, 1961 w. GOSS ETAL TORPEDO EXPLODING MECHANISM 4 ts-Sheet 1 Filed June 20, 1946 INVENTORS W/LBUR 605$ ATTORNEY TORPEDO EXPLDDING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 20, 1946 INVENTORS W/LBUR G055 CHARLES E. BECK JOSEPH EEK 00D %6TR NEY Jan. 17, 1961 w. @055 ETAL TORPEDO EXPLQDING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 20; 1946 iNVE$$T0RS W/LBUR 60.95 CHARLES E BECK JOSEPH ERWO OD United States Patent-O TORPEDO EXPLODING MECHANISM Wilbur Goss, Silver Spring, Md., and Charles Erwood Beck and Joseph Erwood, Chicago, 11]., assignors to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy Filed June 20, 1946, Ser. No. 678,032

7 Claims. (Cl. 102-18) The present invention relates to an exploder for a torpedo and more particularly to an improved exploder for use with a torpedo of the influence operated type.

Every torpedo contains an exploding device for detonating the main charge. In one form of exploder, a firing ring is so armed and cocked that when the torpedo strikes its target the inertia of the firing ring will release a trigger spring that will ignite a detonating charge, which charge in turn will set ofl a booster charge and thereby explode the warhead. In the influence type of torpedo the proximity of magnetic material in the target is utilized to initiate detonation of the warhead. In such a weapon, the firing ring of the exploder may be actuated by inertia, by electronic means energized by the presence of such magnetic material, or by both stimuli. The electric current that is generated by the presence of the target is amplified to an extent suflicient to detonate the exploder and the warhead. In the instant invention, the magnified current is utilized to drive a piston into engagement with the firing ring to set off the exploder.

A principal object, therefore, of the instant invention is the provision of an improved exploder wherein the firing ring may be operated either by the force of impact or by an amplified electrical impulse received from an influence mechanism.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a novel form of trigger mechanism for operating the firing ring, wherein an electrical impulse is received from the influence mechanism and is amplified in such a way as to displace a piston against the firing ring.

A further object of the invention is the provision of novel electrical arming means operating in conjunction with the impulse amplifying means.

Other objects of the invention will appear to those skilled 'in the art from a reading of the following specification.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification,

Fig. 1 is a schematic assembled view of the improved exploder constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the improved trigger mechanism.

Fig. 3 is a perspective of the trigger mechanism, With its supporting bracket removed for the sake of clarity, shown in conjunction with an impeller gear.

Fig. 4 is a posterior elevation of the trigger mechanism.

Fig. 5 is a vertical axial section taken through the midportion of the trigger mechanism.

Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section taken along the line 66 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a vertical transverse section through a portion of the trigger mechanism of Fig. 5 taken along the line 77. I

Fig. 8 is a section similar to Fig. 7, with some structure omitted for the sake of clarity.

Fig. 9 is a vertical transverse section through a portion of the trigger mechanism of Fig. 5, taken along the line 9-9.

Fig. 10 is a vertical transverse section through a portion of the trigger mechanism of Fig. 5, taken along the line 10-10.

Fig. 11 is a detail section of certain structure shown in Fig. 4, taken substantially along the line 1111.

Fig. 12 is an elevation of a portion of the arming means.

Fig. 13 is a perspective of the arming shaft.

Fig. 14 is an elevation of one of the arming members.

With particular reference to Fig. l of the drawings, it will be observed that the exploder device 10 contains all the elements of a conventional exploder such as the Mark 4 Mod. 1 type. A base plate 11 is designed to be inserted into a suitable casing on the underside of the warhead. Among the essential elements of the device is a firing ring 12, the inertia of which is utilized, upon impact of the torpedo against its target or of the target against the torpedo, to ignite a detonator within a safety chamber 13. This detonator, when ignited, will almost immediately set otf the booster 14, and the latter, in turn will explode the main charge. An impeller is driven by the sea water as the missile travels through the water, and functions to arm the exploder.

As described thus far, the exploder 10 does not differ from the conventional inertia mechanism.

An auxiliary trigger device 15 that incorporates the principles of the invention is positioned in the base plate 11, immediately anterior of the exploder firing ring 12, and is so designed that at the proper time a piston is forced rearwardly from the auxiliary device 15 to trigger the firing ring 12 and consequently explode the Warhead. A vertical shaft 16 is actuated by the impeller to arm the auxiliary device 15. The arming process is carried out by the impeller in such a fashion that the arming or cocking of the weapon cannot take place before the missile has put a predetermined distance between it and the launching vessel. A cable 17 leads from a gradiometer or similar device that is sensitive to the presence of a magnetic material in the target and conducts the faint electrical signal generated in the gradiometer into the auxiliary'device 15. Here the signal is amplified and is utilized to force a piston against the firing ring 12 to explode the warhead.

The auxiliary trigger device 15 includes the housing 23 having top, bottom, side, and front walls; the housing 23 is open at its aft end and is provided thereat with a flange 24. A mounting plate 25 that faces the firing ring 12 closes the housing 23 at said end and is provided with a flange 26 that mates with the flange 24 and is bolted thereto, a suitable gasket 27 between the flanges 24 and 26 serving to seal the housing 23, and preventing entry of water. The mounting plate 25 is formed with a side wall 28 and a posterior wall 29, the Wall 29 is described hereinafter. The mounting plate 25 near its lower end contains a chamber 32 in the form of a cylinder that is open at its rear end to receive a piston 33. The piston 33 is designed to move at the proper time through the cylinder 32 into contact with the firing ring 12 for the purpose of triggering the latter. The outer end portion of the cylinder 32 projects beyond the posterior wall 29 and is externally threaded to receive a ring 44. The ring 44 retains in place a shear plate 45, formed of brass or similar material, and having a thickness of the order of .006 inch. Thisv dimension is chosen sufliciently small to permit the triggering piston 33 to shear through the shear plate 45. A gasket 46 between the margin of the shear plate 45 and the end face of the cylinder 32 prevents entry of Water or other foreign matter into the housing 23. It will be seen, therefore, that the shear plate 45 and the ring 44 act to retain the piston 33. normally in place within the cylinder 32.

Within the cylinder 32 is a metallic primer block 47 having a reduced portion 48. The piston 33 has a skirt portion 49 that surrounds thereduced portion 48 .of the primer block 47. The primer block 47 contains a vertically extending chamber 51 that is designed to receive a vertically movable plunger 52 which functions to remove an electrical. short circuit and is therefore called an unshorter plunger. A horizontal shorting wire 53 extends transverselythrough a hole in the unshorter plunger 52 and though an aligned hole in the primer block 47. The ends of the shorting wire 53 are joined to a. plurality of conductors 54, which are connected in an electric circuit with an amplifier.66, shown in Fig. 5, carried in the upper portion of the housing 23. The amplifier may be of the kind commonly used with electrically detonated artillery shell fuzes, and may comprise for example three stages of resistance-coupled amplification. This amplifier 66 and a thyratron 70 or simi lar discharge tube controlled thereby are of conventional type, and therefore both the entire amplifier and the associated thyratron are shown merely as block diagrams.

The primer block 47 carries a primer 56 of the one second delay type; when the primer 56 is detonated it will force the piston 33 outwardly, shearing the plate 45, and operating the firing ring 12 as indicated.

The energy for the amplification is supplied by two battery units 57 and 58 that are contained in the lower portion of the housing 23. The batteries are of the kind commonly used with artillery fuze detonating circuits and are connected in parallel to assure adequate energy for detonating the primer 56 in the primer block 48 and for energizing the filament and anode circuits of the amplifier. Two screw caps 67 and 68 are provided for the battery receptacles for the purpose of inspection and replacement of the batteries.

Attention will now be directed to the mechanism for controlling the electric switch that connects the batteries 57 and 58' with the amplifier, and for breaking the unshorter wire 53 in order to arm the primer 56 after the torpedo containing the device has travelled a predetermined distance from the launching vessel.

This mechanism is contained in the upper portion of the cover plate 25 and includes a horizontal shaft 61 that has its rear end extending into an axial opening 62 in the boss 31; this'end of the shaft 61 is formed with a screwdriver slot 62 for a purpose described hereinafter. Surrounding the rear end portion of the shaft 61 within the boss 31 is a packing nut 64 including a compression washer 65. The function of the nut 64 is to prevent leakage of water or other foreign matter into the interior of the housing 23.

The shaft 61 is formed, anteriorly of the rear end portion thereof, with an enlarged shank 69; freely rotatable on the. shank 69 is a worm gear 71, the teeth of which are designed to mesh with a worm '72 fixed on the upper end of a vertical driving shaft 73. The lower end of the driving shaft 73 extends through the bottom wall of the mounting plate 25 and has a star wheel 74 mounted thereon. Integral with the worm gear 71 and forwardly extended therefrom are a sleeve 75 and a clutch disk 76, both freely rotatable about the shaft 61. The disk 76 is formed with. a reduced rear end portion shaped to define a cam groove 77 eccentric with respect to the shaft 61. Theclutch disk 76 is further provided in its front face and near the periphery thereof with a curved recess 78 concentric with the shaft 61.

Fitted on the shaft 61 near its anterior end by means of a pin 79is a second metal clutch disk 81, this clutch disk 81 having a cylindrical hole 82 near its periphery that during the relative movement of the two clutch disks 76 and 81 registers with the recess 78 in the clutch disk 76. A steel clutch ball 83 is normally carried in the opening 82 and is of sufiicient diameter to extend into the recess 78. The clutch disk 81 is formed with an anterior hub 84 that extends into a groove 85 in a metal bearing plate 86, The. bearing plate 86 is of generally elliptical shape and has two openings in its opposite ends to receive two tie bolts 87 to secure the bearing plate 86 on the posterior wall of the cover plate 25 in spaced relation thereto. The. bearing plate 86 is formed with a cylindrical hole 88 slightly smaller than the opening 82. The purpose of this will be described in detail hereinafter.

Formed in the bearing plate .86 land in the second clutch disk 81 respectively are two registering arcuate slots 91 and 92. A coil spring 93 is so posit.oned that portions thereof extend into the slots 91 and 92.

Mounted on the front surface of the bearing plate 86 and spaced from the bearing plate 86 by an annular spacer 94 is a switch 95. The switch 95 includes a stator 96 that is formed of insulating material and that carries a plurality of contacts 97. Arotor 98 is designed to be carried by and keyed to the reduced front end of shaft 61 to turn therewith. A plurality of contact blades 99 is carried by the rotor 98 and is designed to bridge some of the contacts 97 for controlling some of the electric circuits from the batteries 57 and 58 to the amplifier.

The unshorter means comprises an unshorter operating arm 101 that has a taperedshank 102 provided with a guide slot 103. The guide slot 103 is preferably disposed obliquely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the unshorter operating. arm 101 for a purpose described more fully hereinafter. The unshorter operating arm 101 isenlarged to define a hub 104 that is designed to partially surround the cam groove 77 of the clutch disk 76. The upper end portion of the hub 104 is cut away for approximately 170' of its circumference, so that due to its formation it may be snapped about the cam surface 77. A fixed guide pin 105 is anchored in a thickened portion of the front wall 29 of the cover plates 25 and projects into the slot 103 for the purpose of guiding the bottom of the unshorter operating arm 101 into engagement with the the top of the plunger 52 when the clutch disk 76 is rotated to actuate the eccentric cam surface 77.

To impart step by step rotation to the star wheel 74, there is provided an actuating mechanism comprising a dog or tooth 106 that is mounted on a bracket 107 secured to the frame which supports the detonator mechanism. The dog 106 has a pinion 108 secured to its under-surface, and this pinion 188 meshes with the driving gear 109 on the impeller shaft 16. In order to retain the star wheel 74 against accidental rotation and in a position for operation by the dog 106, there is provided a detent 112 that is fixed to the cover plate 25 beneath the cylinder 32. The detent 112 includes a frame 113, a roller 114, and a spring 115. The spring 115 functions to urge the roller 114 into engagement with the teeth of the star wheel 74. A bracket 116 is employed to retain the device in proper position with respect to the detonator mechanism so that the dog 106 will remain in position for engaging the star wheel 74.

A worm gear 71 is freely rotatable on the shaft 61 and preferably some teeth are removed from said gear to define a cutaway portion, which will oppose the worm 72 when the unshorter arm 101 has been moved to its full unshorting position, so that further rotation of the worm 72 by the vertical driving shaft 73 will be permitted without damaging the unshorter and switch mechanism.

It will be understood that after the torpedo has been launched, travel thereof through the sea water toward its target will cause the impeller Wheel to rotate in the conventional manner. Rotation of the impeller shaft 111 will cause rotation of the driving gear 109 thereon and consequent rotation of the pinion 108 and the dog 106. For every rotation of the dog 106, the star wheel 74 will be caused to move one step, and the star wheel 74 will be restricted to this step-by-step rotation by the detent 112. Three complete revolutions, for example, of the star wheel 74 will impart sufiicient rotation to the worm gear 71 on the horizontal shaft 61 to cause closing of the switch 95 thereby energizing one or more circuits between the batteries 57 and 58 and the amplifier. Three additional revolutions of the star wheel 74 will shift the unshorter arm 101 downwardly into engagement with the unshorter plunger 52 for forcing the plunger 52 downwardly and breaking the horizontal shorting wire 53 to arm the primer 56. Then the star wheel 74 is rotated three additional revolutions to drive the plunger 52 to its lowermost position to insure complete breaking of the short circuit across the primer 56. When the unshorter arm 101 has moved to its lowermost or full unshorting position, further rotation of the worm 72 by the vertical shaft 73 will be permitted Without affecting the unshorting and switch mechanism.

The switch 95 may be moved to closed position without disturbing the unshorter mechanism by use of the screw driver slot 63 in the posterior end of the shaft 61. A screw driver may engage this slot and rotate the shaft 61 for approximately 15 degrees. This will close the switch 95. Such independent rotation of the shaft 61 is permitted by reason of the movement of the clutch ball 83 in the curved recess 78 in the clutch disk 76. More particularly, rotation of the shaft 61 will impart rotation to the clutch disk 81, and this clutch disc 81 will move with respect to the clutch disk 76 a distance equal to the length of the curved recess 78. After the clutch disk 81 has moved so that the ball 83 engages the end of the recess 78, the ball 83 will be shifted into the cylindrical hole 88 in the bearing plate 86 and will leave the curved recess 78. When this takes place, the clutch disk 76 will be free to rotate about the shaft 61 to permit operation of the unshorter arm 101. It will be understood that for normal testing purposes the ball 83 permits or limits independent rotation of the shaft 61 to substantially 15 degrees, which rotation will be sufiicient to close the switch 95. When the screw driver is removed from the slot 63 the spring 93 will return the shaft 61 to its original position, with the switch 95 open.

The operation of the device is, briefly, as follows:

After the torpedo is launched, the flow of sea water will rotate the impeller. The impeller shaft 111 will impart step-by-step rotation to the worm gear 71. The latter will swing the unshorter arm 101 to depress the plunger 52 to cut the arming wire 53. At the same time, the detonator in the exploder will be armed mechanically, in the conventional manner, and, further, the switch 95 will be closed to energize the amplifier. From this time on, the primer 56 and the other arming mechanisms will be armed and the torpedo will be explodable either on impact, or on impulse from a magnetic target.

When the missile approaches a magnetic target, the slight electric current generated thereby will be amplified to operate a thyratron type tube, which in turn will detonate the primer 56 in the primer block 48. When the primer 56 explodes, the force of the explosion will drive the piston horizontally against the firing ring 12. Displacement of the ring 12 will set off the detonator and consequently the booster 14 and the main charge.

What is claimed is:

1. In a torpedo explcder, a firing ring, and means for translating electrical impulses from an influence mechanism into mechanical forces for operating the said firing ring, the said translating means including an amplifier for 7 amplifying the electrical impulses, a piston, and detonatable means operable by the said amplifier and located at the opposite side of the piston with respect to the firing ring for driving the said piston into engagement with the said firing ring upon detonation of said detonatable means.

2. In a torpedo exploder, a firing ring, and means for translating electrical impulses from an influence mechanism into mechanical forces for operating the said firing ring, the said translating means including a gaseous discharge tube, a piston, and a primer connected electrically with the said gaseous discharge tube and located at one side of said piston, and detonatable upon triggering of the said gaseous discharge tube, the said piston being positioned between the primer and the firing ring, whereby upon detonation of the primer, the explosion will force the said piston into engagement with the said firing ring.

3. In a torpedo exploder, a firing ring, a gaseous discharge tube, a primer detonatable upon triggering of the said gaseous discharge tube, and a piston located between the primer and the firing ring and movable by the pressure produced upon detonation of the said primer for engaging the said firing ring.

4. In a torpedo exploder, an influence mechanism, an electrically detonatable primer, a firing ring, for exploding the torpedo when said ring is mechanically disturbed, a piston between the primer and the firing ring, an amplifier, an unshorter normally short circuiting the said primer, a switch for controlling current flow to the said amplifier, means for operating the said switch by travel of the torpedo through the sea water, an unshorter arm also actuated by said means, for operating the said unshorter to break the short circuit across the said primer, and means energized by the current flow from the said amplifier for igniting the said primer, whereby the said piston is forced against the said firing ring to explode the torpedo.

5. A torpedo exploder, comprising a housing, a cylinder within the said housing, a piston in the said cylinder, a primer behind the said piston, a firing ring adjacent to the said piston, and means for detonating the said primer to urge the said piston into engagement with the said firing ring to explode the exploder.

6. In a torpedo exploder, a plunger, a wire normally extending through the said plunger and having its terminals projecting therefrom, a primer connected to the terminals of the said wire, an unshorter arm engageable with the said plunger, and cam means for operating the said unshorter arm whereby the said plunger is moved to break the said wire and arm the said primer.

7. In a torpedo exploder, a primer, electrical means for providing an impulse to detonate said primer, swltching means connected to said electrical means and having a rotor and a stator provided with cooperating contacts for controlling current flow to the electrical means, means operable by travel of a torpedo carrying the exploder for rotating the rotor, means for normally short circuiting said primer, and means operable by rotation of sa1d rotor for rendering said short circuiting means inoperative.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 914,371 Davis Mar. 2, 1909 1,844,575 Harrison Feb. 9, 1932 2,060,198 Hammond Nov. 10, 1936 2,397,678 Minkler Apr. 12, 1946 2,404,553 Wales July 23, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS 6,545 Great Britain of Mar. 14, 1914 668,368 Germany Dec. 1, 1938 

